Coming Home by Marie Force Page A

other room.”
    Jill bit her lip, trying to make sense of him. He hadn’t been shy about the fact that he wanted her, and yet he’d slept elsewhere. He’d been a gentleman and hadn’t taken advantage of an easy opportunity.
    He reached for her free hand and surprised her when he placed a kiss on her palm. The gesture sent a tingle of sensation from her arm to her nipples, which were suddenly standing at full attention.
    “Do you remember the first time we met?”
    Confused by the sudden shift in conversation, Jill thought about that for a second. “It was right after I graduated from law school and went to work for Kate. We were negotiating her new contract with Long Road Records.”
    “Right. You were wearing a navy suit with a pale pink blouse. You had on these sexy, oversized beads.” He used his fingertip to demonstrate exactly where the necklace had lain against her neck. “And sky-high heels that made your legs look crazy long. You had your hair in a very professional bun.”  
    As Jill watched, astounded that he recalled every detail of what she’d worn that day, he gathered up her hair and twisted it into a bun that he pressed against the back of her neck. “Like that,” he said, surveying his handiwork. “You walked into the room, and I never heard another word that was said, except if you said it. You were so gorgeous and sincere and green—very, very green—but you were a tiger on your sister’s behalf.
    “I wanted to reach across the table and tug on the pins holding your hair so I could see what it looked like down.” He released his hold on her hair and watched it tumble over her shoulders. “It was all I could do to stay seated when I was so drawn to you.” Nudging her hair to the side, he touched his lips to her neck. “I’ve wanted you, fiercely, every day since then. So no, I’m not all that interested in a vacation fling. What I want from you, Jill Harrington, goes far beyond our vacation.”
    Jill had been rendered speechless, which wasn’t easy to do.
    “Nothing to say?” he asked, amusement marking his handsome features.
    “I… I didn’t know you felt that way.”
    “For a long time I went out of my way to keep my crush hidden from you. Our families have a bit of history that I figured would be a problem for us. Every time I saw you, though, I wanted you more than the last time. After a while, I stopped caring about our family history or that your sister slept with my dad and all the crap that caused. All I cared about was getting to know you better.”
    Jill stared at him, astounded and amazed.
    “Will you say something? Please? You’re killing me.”
    “I… I thought it was just me.”
    She swore he stopped breathing for a minute, and then he recovered, took the mug from her and put it on the bedside table. With his face mere inches from hers, he said, “You thought what was just you?”
    “The crush, the crazy nerves I’d get every time I knew I was going to see you, the aggravation I felt because you threw me off my game—every time.”
    “Jill—”
    “I couldn’t reconcile you with the man my sister had such animosity toward. I couldn’t figure out how it was possible that I was so drawn to you when she dislikes you so intensely.”
    He winced and then sighed. “She has good reason to dislike me.”
    Jill hadn’t expected him to say that either. “What do you mean?”
    Ashton looked away from her, focusing on the view of the ocean. “When I found out about her and my dad, I called your dad. Not one of my finer moments.”  
    “It must’ve been a big shock to find out about your dad and Kate.”
    “It was… That was a bad day, especially because not long before that he’d looked me in the eye and lied about not knowing who she was involved with. That hurt more than anything, and I’m not proud of the way I behaved.”  
    She reached for his hand, which seemed to surprise him.  
    “For a long time after it ended between them, I wondered if